Euro economy shrinks, is recession next?

The leaders of Estonia, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands met this week in Berlin for an informal meeting on the eurozone debt crisis. Official data released Wednesday showed the region?s economy took a step towards recession.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The eurozone economy shrank in the fourth quarter of 2011, but pockets of strength from France and Germany offset some of the contraction.

Gross domestic product for the 17 nations that use the euro currency fell 0.3% in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter, according to initial estimates released Wednesday by Eurostat, the European Union statistics office.